You may still order online but the items will not be delivered until Thursday 3rd January.

From the staff at Irish Seaweeds and Emerald Isle Seaweed we wish you a Happy Christmas and a Happy New Year!

]]>Summer Holidayshttps://irishseaweeds.com/summer-holidayswe/
Mon, 16 Jul 2018 21:20:28 +0000https://irishseaweeds.com/?p=3655Emerald Isle Seaweed will be on holidays from the 21st of July until the 30th of July. You can still order online but please note

Seaweeds are classified according to their pigments, cell structure, and other traits. The groups of seaweed that are commonly consumed include:

Blue-green algae – spirulina and chlorella
Brown algae – kombu, arame, kelp, and wakame (the miso soup seaweed)
Green algae – sea lettuce or ulva, and sea grapes
Red algae – dulse, laver, and nori (the sushi seaweed)
Below are some of the numerous health benefits you can get from eating seaweed. See if this list can convince you to add more seaweed to your diet:

Seaweed is packed with nutrients – Vegetables are generally good sources of a variety of nutrients, but seaweeds are especially potent sources of vitamin B12, which is needed for healthy blood and nerve tissue. Seaweeds like arame and wakame are great sources of calcium, folate and magnesium, while purple laver is especially rich in B vitamins.
Seaweed is rich in iodine, but watch your intake – Seaweeds like kombu are a valuable source of iodine, which is needed for regulating metabolism and ensuring normal thyroid function. But before you stuff yourself with seaweed, it is important to note that too much iodine can cause thyroid problems. Those with existing thyroid disease (or those predisposed to it) should monitor their iodine intake. It is advisable to limit your consumption of seaweed to one to two tablespoons, two to three times per week.
Seaweed aids in weight loss – Seaweeds like sea kelp contain alginate, which can help suppress the digestion of fat in the gut. Research found that it is possible to prevent obesity through alginates that can block the fat digesting enzymes. Likewise, there is a pigment in kombu called fucoxanthin, which is a carotenoid that may boost production of a protein involved in fat metabolism, which can assist in weight loss.
Seaweed supports bone tissue – Seaweeds, especially the dark green ones, contain high levels of calcium. Moreover, seaweeds contain magnesium, another mineral that supports bone health.
Seaweed promotes heart health – Marine algae contain peptides that effectively lower blood pressure, which is a great way to combat heart disease.
Seaweed balances blood sugar – Adding seaweed to meals can reduce blood sugar spikes and help us feel fuller for longer. Research found that alginate in brown seaweed like arame can strengthen gut mucus and slow down the digestion of carbohydrates. Similarly, previous studies found that alginate can reduce cholesterol and glucose uptake in obese participants.
Detoxify with seaweed – Certain seaweeds like arame and hijiki have plenty of soluble fiber, which promotes detoxification. It cleanses our gut of toxins such as those found in pollutants like cigarette smoke.
Seaweed improves skin condition – Red seaweed is a great source of omega-3 fatty acids, which help reduce inflammation. This, in turn, reduces the risk of acne breakouts and other skin problems, leading to smoother, younger-looking skin. Winter is a great time to eat foods rich in omega-3s to help counter the skin-drying effects of central heating.
Add seaweed into your diet by sprinkling dried or fresh pieces into salads or soups; swapping potato chips for seaweed versions; adding shredded seaweed strips in stir-fries; and using seaweed flakes instead of salt for flavoring. You can also try making your own sushi by rolling vegetables and rice in dried nori sheets; or adding seaweed when cooking beans to make them more digestible.

]]>The Flavor Enhancer You Don’t Need to Tell Anyone Abouthttps://irishseaweeds.com/flavor-enhancer-dont-need-tell-anyone/
Thu, 08 Feb 2018 19:50:51 +0000https://irishseaweeds.com/?p=3397New York Times When food obsessives announce that they have discovered a delicious new thing to eat, generally the first or second thing they’ll tell

When food obsessives announce that they have discovered a delicious new thing to eat, generally the first or second thing they’ll tell you is the secret ingredient or special technique that makes it possible. These bleats of discovery can be exciting, at least for those of us who thrill to the sense of opportunity afforded by the next new thing in food. Cooking, after all, is alchemy, the transformation of base materials into something valuable and rare. Who wouldn’t want to know the latest incantations?

I use dulse to impart flavor to my cooking, with no one the wiser.

But it can be equally magical sometimes, particularly in restaurants, to eat in ignorance and bliss, to not be told anything at all about the food on your plate — unless of course you are a food obsessive and need to know why it tastes so good. So it was on a recent night when I ate a little packet of bluefish steamed in red chard at Houseman, the Manhattan restaurant of the chef Ned Baldwin. Let me be clear right from the start: Steamed bluefish was not a promising order. People in restaurants tend to like their fish crisp at the edges, at the very least, not steamed. They like it white-fleshed and flaky, not dark and oily, beneath a soft carapace of vegetable matter.

But Baldwin’s fish was fantastic, almost exploding with flavor: briny, buttery-rich, silky-salty, with a powerful roundness barely checked by the sweetness of the chard that surrounded it. Its preparation haunted me for days, and eventually I broke down and asked Baldwin how he made it. “It’s dulse butter that does it,” he said, laughing: a compound of unsalted butter and the ground, dried sea lettuce that has been harvested on the coast of Ireland and the shores of the North Atlantic for centuries (the word itself is Gaelic in origin). He said he smears each fillet with the stuff before wrapping it in the chard and cooking it slowly in the oven, flipping the packets often, to keep the meat moist.

Photo

CreditGentl and Hyers for The New York Times. Food stylist: Maggie Ruggiero. Prop stylist: Amy Wilson.

I started cooking with dulse all the time. Particularly now, when the farm stands near my home are bleak and largely empty, I use dulse (and butter too) to impart big flavor to my cooking, with no one the wiser. I use it as Baldwin does, to anoint fillets of cod and tautog, porgy and weakfish. I use it as a dipping sauce, for steamed clams, and as a medium in which to warm bay scallops before serving them with toast. And I love it particularly in this chowder of root-cellar vegetables, clams and fish, one of the easiest and best things to cook for a winter weekend meal. Using a dulse butter at the base of the soup, for the fat in which I sauté the vegetables before deglazing them, makes each individual flavor in the resulting chowder pop, distinctly and with bright effect, from carrot to leek, parsnip to potato, bacon to clam to scallop to fish.

And I think there is no reason to explain to anyone why this is the case, how the powdered seaweed acts as a flavor enhancer, how it contains a natural version of monosodium glutamate, how it’s harvested off rocks at the bottom of the tide: dulse, Palmaria palmata, bounty of the sea. In part that is because I prefer the magic of the meal to the explanation of the trick that makes it. And in part it is because like a lot of us I cook for children and sometimes people who act like children, for those who quail at the new, at the odd, at the unfamiliar, the poorly branded, the strange. Seaweed people know this well. There’s no reason to court questions. They don’t say they cook with dulse. They just cook.

]]>Open againhttps://irishseaweeds.com/temporarily-closed-sorry-inconvenience/
Tue, 07 Nov 2017 20:23:55 +0000https://irishseaweeds.com/?p=3241We are pleased to say we are now open. For telephone enquires call 028 70326710 you can also buy online off our sister site emeraldisleseaweed.com

For telephone enquires call

028 70326710

you can also buy online off our sister site

]]>Seaweed News – August 2016https://irishseaweeds.com/seaweed-news-august-2016/
Fri, 19 Aug 2016 13:49:10 +0000https://irishseaweeds.com/?p=2417Seaweed News – August 2016 Hi all, Its been a while since our last Seaweed Newsletter and that’s because I have been busy harvesting our

Seaweed and its uses seem to be in the News and making the headlines a lot recently, from as a flour substitute in pizza bases to meat replacement in burgers! Even famous Chefs have cottoned on to the health benefits of seaweeds, and the array of vitamins and minerals that seaweeds contain.

In fact, I have received a lot of enquiries, about seaweed and as a food additive this seaweed season, so keep an eye on our site for some exciting products coming soon.

The start of the Seaweed Seasons seems so long ago and I have realised that I hadn’t shared the seaweed season launch photos – that day seemed to be as dark and horrible as today, in fact most of our summer here has been warm with rain! (and lots of it!)

2016 Boat Launch

Seaweed Season begins

The Portaferry Ferry coming into Strangford, Co Down

On a lighter note – I got a picture message from a friend recently. He was sitting in a bar / pub and told me he was thinking of me, eating our Dulse Seaweed! Our Dulse seaweed was on sale there – I only wish I was there with him ;0)

Dulse – being eaten in a bar / pub

Thanks for taking the time to read this Newsletter.

If you wish to Subscribe – please click the link below in the Connect With Us section – on the bottom right hand side of the screen.

]]>Happy Easter from all at Irish Seaweedshttps://irishseaweeds.com/happy-easter-irish-seaweeds/
Fri, 25 Mar 2016 10:02:31 +0000https://irishseaweeds.com/?p=2155 From all at Irish Seaweeds, we wish you a Happy Easter. We will be CLOSED from Friday 25th through to Wednesday 30th March

We will be closed until Monday 21st of March 2106.

Have a good weekend.

]]>Happy Christmas and New Yearhttps://irishseaweeds.com/happy-christmas-and-new-year/
Wed, 23 Dec 2015 10:28:53 +0000https://irishseaweeds.com/?p=1968 We will be closed from Wednesday 23rd December to Wednesday 30th December 2015.

]]>Christmas 2015 – Last Ordering Dates & Seaweed in the Newshttps://irishseaweeds.com/christmas-2015-last-order-dates/
Fri, 27 Nov 2015 12:11:58 +0000https://irishseaweeds.com/?p=1860Hi all, I have worked out the last ordering Dates for Christmas 2015. These have been set around the Royal Mail’s Posting Dates. Last Order

Seaweed in the News

In case you may have missed it, here is some seaweed that hit the headlines :-

“Dulse – the new bacon

14th July 2015.

NEWPORT, Ore. – Oregon State University researchers have patented a new strain of a succulent red marine algae called Dulse that grows extraordinarily quickly, is packed full of protein and has an unusual trait when it is cooked.

This seaweed tastes like bacon.

Dulse (Palmaria sp.) grows in the wild along the Pacific and Atlantic coastlines. It is harvested and usually sold in dried form as a cooking ingredient or nutritional supplement. But researcher Chris Langdon and colleagues at OSU’s Hatfield Marine Science Center have created and patented a new strain of dulse – one he has been growing for the past 15 years.

This strain, which looks like translucent red lettuce, is an excellent source of minerals, vitamins and antioxidants – and it contains up to 16 percent protein in dry weight, Langdon said.

“The original goal was to create a super-food for abalone (a shellfish), because high-quality abalone is treasured, especially in Asia,” Langdon pointed out. “We were able to grow dulse-fed abalone at rates that exceeded those previously reported in the literature. There always has been an interest in growing dulse for human consumption, but we originally focused on using dulse as a food for abalone.”

The technology of growing abalone and dulse has been successfully implemented on a commercial scale by the Big Island Abalone Corporation in Hawaii.

Langdon’s change in perspective about dulse was triggered by a visit by Chuck Toombs, a faculty member in OSU’s College of Business, who stopped by Langdon’s office because he was looking for potential projects for his business students. He saw the dulse growing in bubbling containers outside of Langdon’s office and the proverbial light went on.

“Dulse is a super-food, with twice the nutritional value of kale,” Toombs said. “And OSU had developed this variety that can be farmed, with the potential for a new industry for Oregon.”

Several chefs are now testing dulse as a fresh product and many believe it has significant potential in both its raw form and as a food ingredient.

Sylvia, who is a seafood economist, said that although dulse has great potential, no one has yet done a full analysis on whether a commercial operation would be economically feasible. “That fact that it grows rapidly, has high nutritional value, and can be used dried or fresh certainly makes it a strong candidate,” he said.

There are no commercial operations that grow dulse for human consumption in the United States, according to Langdon, who said it has been used as a food in northern Europe for centuries. The dulse sold in U.S. health food and nutrition stores is harvested, and is a different strain from the OSU-patented variety.

“In Europe, they add the powder to smoothies, or add flakes onto food,” Langdon said. “There hasn’t been a lot of interest in using it in a fresh form. But this stuff is pretty amazing. When you fry it, which I have done, it tastes like bacon, not seaweed. And it’s a pretty strong bacon flavor.”

The vegan market alone could comprise a niche.”

At Irish Seaweeds, we have long known that Dulse (whatever strain) when fried gently has the taste of bacon ;0)

More Seaweed in The News

And he is not alone in believing so – seaweed is fast becoming the greatest trend in food since Oliver brought the word ‘pukka’ into common parlance.

GREAT FOR WEIGHT LOSS

Low in carbohydrates and calories, seaweed could help you on the way to a slender figure.

There is a natural fibre in sea kelp called alginate, which inhibits the enzymes that digest fat, so less is absorbed by the body.

In a 2014 study at Newcastle University, alginate was added to bread which patients ate along with a carefully recorded diet, and their overall fat absorption was measured.

Seaweed is high in fibre which inhibits fat digestion

Researchers found that even a small amount of alginate reduced fat absorption by a third.

Results from further tests suggested that alginate could reduce the amount of fat absorbed by the body by around 75 per cent.

Another weight-loss ingredient is fucoxanthin, a pigment found in brown seaweed. Emerging research suggests it could burn fat, and help to slow its production.

Seaweed can also make you feel fuller without eating more calories. As well as being low-calorie and high-fibre, seaweed rehydrates and swells in the stomach, which makes you feel fuller.

THYROID SAVIOUR

‘Lots of us are deficient in iodine, especially women,’ says nutritionist Christine Bailey. ‘It is used by your thyroid gland to help regulate metabolism and the development of both skeleton and brain, among other things.

‘We store iodine in the breasts – the bigger the breasts, the higher your daily requirement is likely to be. The recommended dietary allowance (RDA) is 150 mcg a day, but it is thought that half of us are consuming less than 130 mcg.

‘Key sources of iodine are fish, shellfish and seaweed, which is jam-packed with the stuff. A sprinkling every day supports the thyroid hormones, which play a key role in metabolism. The more efficient your metabolism, the more effectively you’re burning food.’

BOOSTS IRON LEVELS

‘Not only is seaweed high in iron, it is also rich in Vitamin C, which helps your body absorb iron,’ says Christine Bailey.

‘Different types have different iron levels, and it depends on whether you have it fresh or dried. Sea lettuce has 5.3 mg per 100g when fresh, but this is multiplied by ten when it’s dried.’

Iron helps to make red blood cells, without which we can suffer fatigue and poor immune response. The RDA for men is 8.7 mg and 14.8 mg for menstruating women.

KEEPS HEARTS HEALTHY

‘The high fibre content is good for maintaining cholesterol levels – and chemicals in seaweed called polysaccharides have anti-coagulant properties,’ says Christine Bailey. ‘This means they decrease the tendency of blood to form dangerous clots.’ Seaweed is also a good source of potassium, which may help to prevent high blood pressure.

BEAUTY BENEFITS

It works on both the inside and the outside. ‘Seaweed not only cleanses the skin, but also repairs and revitalises it,’ says Margo Marrone, of The Organic Pharmacy.

‘Seaweeds are vegetables, and different types behave in different ways when cooked.’

‘For example, dulse is a natural flavour enhancer, with a rich savoury taste that boosts dishes such as risotto.

‘Or there is sea spaghetti – nature’s pasta. It looks like spaghetti and you cook it in the same way. We recommend you use wakame seaweed in the same way as spinach. Throw it in warm water to hydrate, then add it to soups, salads and smoothies.’

Christmas Cards

Again, this year, we will not be sending Christmas Cards in the mail, but will be making a donation to the following Charities :